


Almost Not Quite Jealous

by Climbergirlio



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Archie’s a little jealous, But still a good friend, F/M, Takes place mostly during 1x07, bughead - Freeform, jarchie friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-30
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2020-07-26 02:22:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20036308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Climbergirlio/pseuds/Climbergirlio
Summary: When Archie hears that Jughead and Betty “may have had a moment” he is a little jealous. Soon, he realizes that he doesn’t need to be.





	Almost Not Quite Jealous

Archie slipped into his first period Bio class still reeling from the revelation that his former best friend was homeless and living in a closet at school. And not only that, but the fact that he had insisted Archie not tell Betty. He supposed it made some sense, the two seemed to be getting closer since starting the newspaper together, but Archie knew for a fact that Betty wouldn’t do something like kick him off the Blue and Gold simply for being homeless. In fact, she’d probably lead a crusade to make sure he had a place to sleep. Maybe that was what he wanted to avoid. Archie shook his head and made an effort to actually listen to the teacher, resolving to talk to his friend later.

~*~

It wasn’t until later, while all their friends were seated on couches in the student lounge that the pieces began to fall into place. Betty and Jughead were seated next to each other, which wasn’t odd as they had been sitting next to one another a lot recently. Archie had figured it was a product of their sleuthing for the school paper.

Betty gives them the rundown on Polly, sounding really stressed out. Archie wants to go over and comfort her in some way, but before he gets the chance, Jughead reaches over and squeezes her shoulder. Archie can’t help the look that crosses his face.  _ Jughead Jones  _ willingly touched someone. He sneaks a glance over at Ronnie, and sees his shock mirrored on her face. To top things off, though, Betty reaches up and sets her hand on top of the one that Jughead has rested on her shoulder, giving him a look Archie can’t interpret. He scrambles for something to say, something that will make it seem like he hasn’t even noticed the interaction or thought it out of the ordinary. 

“Betty, even though your parents don't want to, maybe you should go to the police,” Archie suggests. 

Veronica and Kevin agree with him, but Jughead, moving his hand from its place on Betty’s shoulder, disagrees, “No offense, Kev, but your dad answers to a higher authority than God, the Blossoms.

They're the first people that he would tell.”

Betty agrees, “and if there’s anyone to keep this a secret from, it’s the Blossoms. They’d twist it around and go after Polly out of spite.”

Archie can’t help but agree. Veronica, too, seems to see the sense and offers their help to Betty. Jughead and Betty glance at each other once more before Betty leans in and whispers a plan. Archie can’t help the wave of jealousy that washes over him. He doesn’t like Betty romantically, but the possibility that she likes someone who’s not him just doesn't sit quite right.

When the bell rings, Archie dashes out into the hall to catch up with Jughead, intending to question him about Betty. 

“We may have had a moment,” Jughead informs him almost apologetically once Archie voices the question. 

Archie notices the intentional vagueness of the word ‘moment’. Moment left a lot to the imagination. Had they simply connected? Kissed? Made out? Held hands? Moment wasn’t very specific. As far as Archie knew, neither of them had kissed anyone before. In fact, Archie didn’t think he’d seen Jughead even touch anyone since they were kids, which made what just happened even odder.

He doesn’t voice any of those thoughts, though. Instead, he just mumbles something about it being totally cool and heads off to class. 

~*~

The next time Archie brings up the topic of Betty with Jughead, the two boys are almost but not quite asleep in the relative quiet of Archie’s room.

“I thought you didn’t even like girls,” Archie mumbles into the dark.

Jughead sighs deeply, “I really don’t get why you care so much.”

Archie pauses to think, not wanting what he’s about to say come out wrong, “it’s just that you guys are my best friends.”

“And nothing will change that,” Jughead assures him. 

Archie sits up, “but seriously. I thought you didn’t like girls.” Then as an afterthought, “or guys.”

It’s just light enough that Archie can see Jughead raise his eyebrows, “I don’t. At least, not girls plural. Just the one.”

Archie doesn’t have a response to that. He’d never imagined Jughead or Betty ever dating anyone. Maybe it was because he felt like she was waiting around for him and she would complete that girl next door cliche. Jughead, because he was just so Jughead and he had always been something of a self-created loner. The (and he felt bad for even thinking it) weird kid. He certainly couldn’t imagine Betty Cooper, sunshine child, and Jughead Jones, the brooding loner ever sharing a  _ moment _ , much less dating. If they were even dating. 

“You fall asleep on me Arch?” Jughead asks from the floor.

“Nah. Just thinking.”

“If it really bothers you-”

Archie cuts him off, suddenly realizing something, “no, no. Really it’s all good. In fact, I think you two are good for each other.” And he really means it. Sure, at first thought it’s a bit of a mismatch, but they really have been getting closer lately, and he was glad that his two friends could make each other happy. Especially after everything that had gone down with their respective families. 

Jughead breathes a sigh of relief, “you think so?”

“Yeah.” 

Archie squishes down that uncomfortable jealousy, this time recognizing it for what it is. He’d been afraid that his two best friends would no longer need him, not that they had found each other. And really, it was his own fault. After all,  _ he _ was the one who pushed them away once he found romance. But Jughead and Betty were loyal and forgiving, and he knew that no matter what happened, no matter how things went between the two of them, they’d be there for him. It had just taken Jughead’s beginnings of the offer to break things off with Betty (which maybe hadn’t even started yet?) for him to realize it. 

“Night Arch,” Jughead whispers into the dark.

“Night Jug,” Archie whispers back, already planning on how to make up for his momentary lack of faith in his friends.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, not my best work. I just think that Archie had some unexpressed jealousy about Bughead getting together and wants to address it. I just sort of explored what a teenage boy might be thinking, and coupled that with what I would have thought and this is what you got.


End file.
